India’s fuel demand in April falls 0.3% year on year

Fuel consumption in India, a proxy for oil demand, fell by around 0.3% year on year in April to about 18.41 million tonnes, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.

Sales of petrol were up 2.9% to 2.9 million tonnes. Cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sales fell 0.1% to around 2.2 million tonnes.

The demand for diesel was up 6.7% in April over the same month last year, aided by the harvesting season and overall economic expansion.

Increased vehicle sales and demand for consumer goods also led to a boost in sales of diesel.

Jet fuel (ATF) sales during the months were 15.4% higher than in April 2022.

Data from oil companies show that diesel, which comprises about 40% of India’s oil demand, has fully recovered from the Covid-led disruptions. Its sales in April were 9.1% higher than in the same month of 2019.

Petrol, which recovered faster from Covid-lows, sold 18.5% more in April than in the same month in 2019.